Cars will be the driving force behind the crowd expected to gather Saturday evening on the Beardstown square, when Beardstown Main Street and the Late Knight Cruisers car club sponsor the seventh annual Beardstown Cruise-In.

“I would describe it as a car rally,” Beardstown Main Street Executive Director Abby Cooper said. “It’s just a place for car enthusiasts to get together, show off their cars.”

While there will be assorted drawings for door prizes and the like, there’s no registration required and no set program.

“Car guys just like to get together with other car guys,” Cooper said.

The event will run from 6 to 9 p.m. Those displaying their cars will be able to join an escorted cruise around town starting at 6:30 p.m.

Cooper said she’s not quite sure what kind of crowd to expect, since this is her first cruise-in, but she thinks there should be a good turnout.

“It appears from the Late Knight Cruisers that there’s kind of a following” for the cruise-in, she said. “I’m hoping for a good crowd, but I don’t know if that’s 100 people or 1,000.”

The key to the event is, of course, the cars, she said.

“The highlight is admiring the cars,” Cooper said. “And probably the door prizes, because the Late Knight Cruisers picked out the prizes, so I’m sure they’re things car people will appreciate.”